As in Act I, Scene 4, the audience is permitted to observe Lear's intense, unstable reactions to adversity. He is initially bewildered by Regan and Cornwall's absence, since Lear sent advance notice of his arrival. This departure from accepted rules of hospitality truly upsets the king. Next, Lear is amazed to discover that Cornwall is responsible for placing Kent in the stocks. At several points, Lear is so angry he can hardly speak (II.4.92–93, 100–101) and he can barely compose a rational sentence. The suggestion that he return to Goneril's palace infuriates Lear. He is most impassioned when he urges divine retribution against Goneril (II.4.159–160, 162–165). Although Lear had earlier made some small effort to regain control (II.4.55–56), he cannot maintain composure in Goneril's presence.
In many respects, Lear is in denial, as when he seeks an excuse for Cornwall's behavior: "may be he is not well" (II.4.102). And when Goneril appears, Lear first pleads with her for sympathy, and then indulges in self-pity: "Art not asham'd to look upon this beard?" (II.4.188–191). Even more pleading and self-pity is evident in his later address to both daughters: "You see here, you Gods, a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in both!" (II.4.270–271).
Anger has not moved either Regan or Goneril, and groveling will be similarly ineffective, but Lear desperately tries to regain some order in a life in which he has abdicated control. In many ways, Lear appears almost resigned, as he acknowledges that Goneril is "my flesh, my blood, my daughter" (II.4.219). But he also concedes that she is of "my corrupted blood" (II.4.223), and thus, he accepts responsibility for her actions. His choices as her father have determined her choices as his daughter. All of these emotional responses cannot change the reality of his new life, nor do they provide an effective way to deal with solving the problems created by his hasty actions in Act I.
